Thanks for framing the discussion Ken.
On some of his feedback:
The passing game:
Yes, Brady continues to display amazing accuracy and technique on many of his throws. He's also really displaying fire. After that game-winning TD drive, the shot of him screaming toward the bench was classic. Fists clenched, tendons stretched in his neck. Several of his INT's this year have been off his receivers' hands - the Hernandez one last week, the throw to the right side of the 10 yard line or so against Buffalo - whereas last year those seemed to find turf first. He's still the best in the league. That said, Dallas did a good job limiting the Pats passing offense for most of the game. 211 yards in this year's NFL is not a lot.
If Ochocinco really cannot figure out the offense, I'd like to see a little of Taylor Price. He was on the field for just one play. Of course they are not running many three WR sets right now with Hernandez back.
The running game:
This has been a good run-blocking team for years under Scarnecchia, and we continue to see that. The Pats running game is under-rated this year because of Brady's start. For a cold weather team, that's really important, especially the power running. We saw what BJGE is capable of last week, and this was another tough test of the running game. And Dallas showed what happens when you cannot run out the final four minutes. It would be nice if the Pats had one big receiver to help run-block out of their 2TE set; Branch and Welker are not going to bowl over many defenders. Right now BJGE and Ridley are a good pair.
Pass defense:
There were a lot more three-man lines against Dallas. I wonder if we will see a lot more 3-4 after the break. They seemed to re-tool this defense for the 4-3 with Haynesworth, Carter, and Anderson. Yesterday we saw plenty of three-down linemen, with Carter playing RDE. The defense did a much better job against a big receiver in Bryant than they did against Marshall or Vincent Jackson, while still controlling Whitten. Clearly the best pass defense this unit has achieved. More impressive that it was against a team coming off its bye, with two weeks to review the Miami, SD, and other games to see how to use big WR's against the Pats.
As others have noted, crappy tackling. I wonder if this is related to the prohibition on practicing in pads. The worst was the Bryant on the sideline - bracketed inside and out against the sideline, and he makes both guys miss.
Run defense:
Improving work from the DL. They continue to do a good job moving parallel to the line, stringing plays out. While it's a 4-3 base, it still looks like more of a two-gap system, plugging holes and driving the runner laterally. They really miss Mayo. Mayo is so quick to diagnose a play. Spikes is good in that department. Guyton is terrible. While he seems to have all the physical capabilities, he is just so slow to figure out what is happening, and is often caught flat-footed watching.
Nice break. Great to go into the Bye with a big win.
I really wonder how the defense will be adjusted. Will we see more three-man fronts integrated?
It will also be interesting to see how the PUPpies are handled.